Murder Sings the Blues
by TitansRule
Summary: Mac shared his birthday with someone and something's making Don depressed enough to drink away his sorrows after work. Can Jess get to the bottom of things and cheer him up? Story #8 in my 'Kindred Spirits' series.


**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits' – there's a list of the order on my profile.  
****Spoilers: **_**Murder Sings the Blues**_**; **_**Heroes**_**. If you've read my story **_**Kindred Spirits**_**, which is what the series was named after, in which they discover Jess is alive, you'll know how they found out about Aiden, but you don't have to have read that … Then again, it does get kind of important, but not until after **_**Pay Up**_**.**

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Murder Sings the Blues

"_That must have been extremely awkward." Jess commented._

_Lindsay nodded. "It was kinda like when you're in school and one kid's messing around and the teacher yells at them; you can't help but feel like you're getting told off too."_

"_What's goin' on?" Don asked, appearing behind them._

"_Apparently, Hawkes knew our vic." Jess explained. "And Mac just gave him a dressing-down in front of the entire lab. Where did that come from?"_

"_It's a difficult day." Don stated shortly._

"_Mac's birthday?" Jess frowned in confusion._

"_Not just his." Don moved past them. "Excuse me."_

"_What was that about?" Jess asked, watching him disappear further into the lab._

_Lindsay shook her head. "I have no idea."_

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Whatever the mystery reason, it appeared that Jess was about to discover it. She had arrived at Sully's after her case closed to find Flack already there and already on his third or fourth drink, sitting alone, which was unusual.

What was even more unusual was the fact that the other detectives were letting him reach that state.

Maka followed her gaze. "Long story." She murmured. "It was Aiden's birthday today."

"Who's Aiden?" Jess asked.

"Maybe you should ask him." Maka suggested.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Fine." She took her beer from the bartender and slid into the seat next to him. "Long day?"

"You can say that again." Don snorted into the bottle he was nursing.

"Long day?" Jess repeated; when he didn't even smirk, she lowered her drink again, deciding to take the direct approach. "Maka mentioned it was Aiden's birthday today. Mind if I ask?"

"Yeah, but you're going to anyway." Don sighed. "Aiden was a CSI before Lindsay came along. She was fired just over a year ago … almost tampered with evidence. A friend of hers was a victim in a rape case."

"That's what you meant earlier." Jess realised. "That's why Mac was so pissed off at Hawkes."

"Probably." Don nodded. "Doesn't want anyone to make that mistake again; he should have taken her off it, really. She's … She's missing."

"Missing?" Jess repeated.

"After she left the lab, she carried on investigating the guy. After about eight months, we found a body in a burned-out car." Don explained wearily. "Turned out to be a complete stranger, but we thought it was her. So did he." His hand clenched momentarily, before leaving the empty bottle.

Jess grabbed it before he could signal for another, squeezing gently. "I think you've had enough. What happened?"

"Son of a bitch beat her to death." Don whispered, every word somehow horribly audible over the noise at the bar. "Then set her alight. They had to use a 3D reconstruction to work out who it was." He laughed bitterly. "Ironic, really; that was Aiden's area of expertise, even before the computer program they use now. She used to spend hours in Recon, building up this face from clay."

"But it wasn't her, right?" Jess whispered. "They made a mistake."

"She's still missing." Don muttered. "And we can't even file a report. She owned her apartment and was working as a PI, so she hasn't missed rent and she hasn't missed work."

"And, if it weren't for the case, you wouldn't have known she was missing." Jess added, unable to avoid the anger she felt at the red-tape they had to climb over. "Cell-phone?"

"Out of commission." Don sighed.

"Family?" Jess pressed.

"Only her father." Don shook his head. "He just insisted that she wasn't missing."

"Maybe she's not." Jess suggested.

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"Well, maybe her father knows where she is. Maybe she left town to make a clean break of it. And you're thinking that yourself," Jess concluded softly, "and that's why you're upset. Not because she's missing, but because there was no reason for her to say goodbye."

"Yeah." Don admitted with another sigh. "I hate it when you're right."

"Right now, so do I." Jess smiled apologetically. "Time to change the subject, I think."

"Probably a good idea." Don agreed. "How was your case?"

"Girl died after drinking rocket fuel." Jess sighed. "Wasn't even aimed at her; it was meant for the person who sets up these 'Blue Train' parties, Randy Kearn. And then we had to stop him from shooting the guy who tried to kill him. Yours?"

"You ever heard of room-maids?" Don asked in response.

"Of what?" Jess raised an eyebrow, certain she'd misheard him. "You mean 'room-_mates'_, right?"

"No." Don shook his head. "I mean room-_maids_. Grant Jordan, Manhattan's bachelor of the year. Apparently, these men can't just live with anyone. So they hire women to live them and they pay room-and-board by cleaning. Apparently Grant had a fondness for blue-eyed blondes, so the current one was wearing a wig and contacts."

"She killed him?" Jess guessed.

"Nah, the next-door neighbour did. Said the noise from his swim-gym drove him crazy." Don explained. "But the previous room-maid was a nutcase. He started doing her and she thought they were gonna get married. She had a wedding planned."

Jess shook her head with a chuckle. "I never got that. Why would you want to marry a man who didn't want you?"

"That was the thing; she was convinced he _did_ want her." Don told her. "I will never understand women like that."

"Flack, _I _don't understand women like that." Jess confessed. "And I am a woman."

"But not like that." Don pointed out.

"True." Jess conceded. "For that matter, what is it about blue-eyed blondes that men love so much?"

"Why are you asking me?" Don asked.

"Hmm, well, let's have a look at the women I've seen you with so far …" Jess responded thoughtfully. "The last one was a blue-eyed blonde … one before that was a blue-eyed blonde … blue-eyed blonde … blue-eyed blonde …"

"A'right, a'right." Don stopped her, laughing anyway. "I don't do that on purpose, Jess. It's a coincidence."

"I thought there weren't any coincidences." Jess smirked.

"I need to stop telling you things." Don muttered. "What I mean is, it's not like I date these women _because_ they've got blonde hair and blue eyes."

"Of course not." Jess agreed. "It's the scintillating conversation."

"Yeah right." Don rolled his eyes. "Okay, so maybe it's do with how they look, but that doesn't …"

"Relax." Jess nudged him lightly. "I'm just messin' with you."

"I knew that." Don insisted. "It's just been a long day." He raised his hand again to signal the bartender and, this time, Jess didn't stop him. "Have you done something different with you hair?"

Jess started at the question, which had seemingly appeared out of the blue. "No. Why?"

"It looks nice today." Don answered simply, picking up the new bottle. "Not that it doesn't always look nice."

"Thank you." Jess felt her face heat up and took a sip of her drink to cover it, finishing it. "I gotta go; promised Mom I'd call."

"I got it." Don told her as she reached for her purse. "I owe you."

"Hey, I got an idea." Jess grinned. "How about we stop owing each other?"

"I like that idea." Don grinned back. "But I'm still paying. Call me old-fashioned …"

"You're old-fashioned." Jess complied flatly.

"It's a figure of speech, Angell." Don sniggered. "_As _I was saying, call me old-fashioned, but Ma would never forgive me if I made you pay."

Jess sighed. "Alright, but coffee's on me tomorrow."

"Deal." Don agreed immediately. "I'll see you then."

"See you." Jess made her way out of the bar, only to run into Maka again. "Hey."

"What did you say?" Maka asked quietly. "Normally when Flack's like that, there's nothing that can cheer him up."

Jess shrugged. "I'm a cheerful person."

"I mean it, Angell." Maka told her. "There's something between you two."

"Kaile, come on!" Jess rolled her eyes. "We're friends, nothing more."

But, deep down, she knew her colleague was right; there was something between her and Don that drew her to him.

She just wished she knew what it was.

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**AN: I always thought it was weird that Aiden was allowed to work the Pratt case if she was friends with the victim, and figured maybe that's why Mac's so strict about it now. Review please!**

**Oh, and before I forget: Don's flashback in 'Oedipus Hex' was caused by the song on the radio - it was the same one playing at the block party before the bomb.**


End file.
